


love is a battlefield

by wendywrites



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 15:22:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2314283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendywrites/pseuds/wendywrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaebum makes a bet with Jinyoung to see who can get Jackson first and Jaebum nearly loses both in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	love is a battlefield

As far back as Jaebum can remember, he has always loved dancing. His parents never really cared for it; they would rather he develop a passion for studying – or at least a sport that could take him places like baseball or football – but dancing was always it for him. 

He experimented with different styles before he finally discovered b-boying. He was eight years old the first time he watched an amateur performance by two university students outside a train station, and he knew then that he didn’t want to do anything else.

The first time he tried to attempt a basic swipe he misplaced one of his hands and, instead of twirling around, he ended up losing his balance and slamming his face into the ground. He was honestly more shocked than hurt, but Jinyoung had to run and get help as Jaebum laid unmoving on the ground. 

His parents probably thought that that would be the end of that, but his massive failure only made him more determined to get it right. He couldn’t deny that he was scared the next time he tried that same move, but the feeling of euphoria when he managed to keep his balance and move his limbs the way he had seen the older boys do it was amazing. From then on, Jaebum practised everyday, no matter how tired he was from school and homework and tutoring, until he too could show off his skills outside train stations.

When he’s spinning his limbs and moving to the music, Jaebum is too caught up in the thrill to really pay attention to the people who gather to watch him, but when he stops their cheers and applause surges into his ears and gives him a second high. As per usual, he takes a moment to glance around at who was watching him before they walk away; today there’s a pod of middle school aged boys chattering excitedly and looking at him in awe, about three primary school aged kids who cheer loudly as they are being pulled away by impatient parents, as well as a kindly ahjumma who tells him to take care so he doesn’t fall and hurt himself. That’s about typical, but today there’s also an outlier.

“Woooh! That was excellent! Hey, hey, b-boy king!” a guy who looks to be in his late teens hoots in English as he jumps up and down. It’s not like foreigners never stop to watch him, but he typically meets them in Seoul; he’s a bit taken aback at seeing one, and such a boisterous one at that, in Suwon of all places. 

“Uh thanks, I’m glad you enjoy enjoyed it,” Jaebum nods to the other boy. 

“You speak English?” he blinks in surprise.

“Yeah, I go to an international school,” Jaebum shrugs. When he was a child, he didn’t get the big deal his parents made about getting him into Seoul International School, but knowing English certainly has come in handy.

“Oh, cool; me too. I go to Gyeonggi Suwon,” the stranger grins, “My Korean isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be when I first got here, but I’m definitely more comfortable with English.”

“So, are you from America?” The other boy bristles as if Jaebum has asked him something very offensive.

“Uh, no. I’m from Hong Kong,” he scoffs as he turns the brim of his black hat around to display the ‘852’ in bold white thread. “By the way, my name is Jackson Wang. You are?”

“Jaebum, Im Jaebum. What are you doing in Korea?”

“Is there something wrong with Korea why I shouldn’t be here?” Jackson asks with wide eyes.

“Uh, no, I was just curious,” Jaebum scratches the back of his neck.

“No need to look so serious, man, I was just joking,” Jackson grins while playfully slapping Jaebum on the arm, “And to answer your question, I’m here to enhance my fencing training; South Korea is much further ahead than Hong Kong in that regard.”

“So, you’re here to steal our secrets and use them to further your own country?” Jaebum grins cheekily, surprising himself. He’s not usually so friendly with strangers, but Jackson is really easy to talk to.

“Steal? Haha, they practically begged me to come here,” Jackson guffaws, slapping Jaebum’s arm again. “So, I’ve been going to GSIS for about three years and I’ve never seen your face before, why’s that?”

“Oh, I don’t go to school here. I’m actually from Seoul.”

“So do you just come out to Suwon to do your b-boy thing?”

“Pretty much,” Jaebum says sheepishly. He started coming here to b-boy ever since he was fourteen and he attended his first R16 tournament, which was held in Suwon that year. It has meaning for him, but it sounds a bit silly saying it to another person.

“Hey, relax, I’m not trying to embarrass you, I’m just curious. I’ve seen quite a few guys b-boy on the streets around here, but it’s a bit unusual to see anyone at this time of year. It must really mean something for you to travel this far in the winter. One thing I can always appreciate is passion for a sport,” Jackson says seriously. 

It’s such a change from his previous demeanour that Jaebum can’t help but stare at him. As Jackson stares back, Jaebum notices that he has really nice brown eyes. Jackson finally looks away when his phone beeps.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, but I’ve got to be heading back now. I was taking a much needed break, but I’ve got to get back to training or my dad will be sore.”

“Your dad is your coach?”

“Yeah, he’s a past champion fencer himself,” Jackson grins proudly. 

“That’s pretty cool,” Jaebum nods, impressed. 

“If I see you around Suwon again, I’ll come and say hi again. Laters!” Jackson waves before he jogs off.

“Later,” Jaebum calls to his back.

Jaebum goes back to Suwon a few more times after that, but he doesn’t run into Jackson again. As the end of the school year approaches, he gets less freedom to go off on his own, his parents stressing his need to study. As a result, he gets so preoccupied by his studies that he forgets about his meeting with the friendly foreign fencer. 

 

On the first day of school after summer break, Jaebum takes his seat next to Jinyoung and notices a familiar glint in his eyes. It’s the ‘I know something you don’t know and I’m not going to tell you yet’ look that he gets whenever one of the little birds in his network bring him some interesting information. Twelve years of being friends with Jinyoung has taught him that the worst thing he could do to if he actually wants to know is ask what it is. So, he nods his hello and instead starts complaining about how the plans they had made for their annual summer trip had gotten derailed by bad weather.

“It’s not like they’ll never be other trips, but this was our last one as high school students,” Jaebum moans.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll have even longer summers to do whatever we want when we get to university,” Jinyoung says smugly just before their teacher enters and calls the class to session. Sure enough, with Jaebum not pressing him for more information, he ends up caving by lunchtime. 

“It seems there’s a new student at our school,” he says casually as he bites into his beef and rice.

“Oh really?” Jaebum asks just as causally. That can’t possibly be all there is to the story.

“He’s from abroad; Hong Kong apparently,” Jinyoung continues.

“Ah, Hong Kong?” Jaebum rolls the words around in his mouth the way his mother likes to do with her wine. He actualy wants to know more now; there hasn’t been a student from Hong Kong in the time Jaebum has been here.

“How did he manage such a late transfer to our school?” Maybe he showed too much interest because Jinyoung stops talking. 

“Well, he’s clearly not in our class, so I guess we won’t be seeing much of him anyway,” Jaebum shrugs to himself and carries on eating.

“I wouldn’t be so hasty,” Jinyoung says after a few minutes of silence. Jaebum raises his eyebrows in question, but doesn’t look up from his food. “I’ve seen him and, trust me, he’s the kind of guy you make time to see.” Jaebum looks up at last.

“So, you think he’s hot?”

“Hot? He’s fucking gorgeous.” Jaebum can’t help but he a bit shocked; Jinyoung hardly swears.

“It’s that bad, eh?”

“So, I think we should have a wager. I could easily seduce him and be done with, but what’s the fun in that? At any rate, the rest of the school population is evenly split on which one of us is sexier. I say we have the new guy decide by seeing who can get to sleep with him first and settle it once and for all,” Jinyoung grins mischievously

“Not content with passively breaking hearts by simply existing, Park Jinyoung turns to newer, more active methods to achieve his nefarious goals,” Jaebum sighs sarcastically.

“So, we’re on, then?”

“No,” Jaebum says blandly.

“If I win, you have to pay for all of our meals when we get to university,” Jinyoung continues.

“No,” he repeats, covering his face with his hand.

“You won’t win, but, if you do, you can tell me what you want. I’ll do whatever it is.”

“That confident, are you?” Jaebum asks with a raised eyebrow. Jinyoung simply smiles and shrugs. Jaebum knows he’s being played, that even considering doing this is exactly what Jinyoung wants, but his pride won’t let him leave it.

“Alright, I’ll take that bet.” He shakes the hand Jinyoung offers him.

“Okay, let’s establish a couple of rules to make it fair and interesting. First of all, we’re not allowed to touch a certain way him unless he initiates it. For example, if he puts an arm around our shoulders, we can put our arms around him, but not before he does it first. Second of all, photographic evidence needs to be presented for a winner to be declared. I’m talking sweaty and naked in bed. And it has to have both persons; you can’t just ask Jackson to take a nude and say you won.”

“Is that supposed to be some kind of insinuation? If anything, you’re the one who’s more likely to cheat than me. I never would have even thought of that,” Jaebum protests. 

“That’s about it, let’s keep this simple,” Jinyoung continues as if Jaebum didn’t speak. “And, I shouldn’t have to say this, but no drugging him or plying him with alcohol either.”

“Okay, now I’m really offended,” Jaebum says heatedly, stabbing at his food.

“Sorry, my joke fell flat,” Jinyoung says sheepishly, while looking down. Jaebum huffs through his nostrils and gulps down his water.

“I over rotated. Forgive me please?” Jinyoung says while looking up. Against his will, Jaebum feels a smile pull at the corner of his lips. When Jaebum started getting good at b-boying, he would show off for Jinyoung all the time. Once, he got so into a move that he overdid it and ended up kicking Jinyoung in the face.

Jinyoung took the injury surprisingly well, but all Jaebum could do was wail, ‘I’m so sorry, I over rotated!’ Since then it’s become a bit of an in-joke for them, something one says when he knows he’s gone too far and wants to make-up and lighten the mood at the same time. 

“You’re forgiven,” Jaebum nods. 

“So, would you like to meet the young man lucky enough to be wooed by us?” Jinyoung claps.

“When?” Jaebum asks, turning his attention back to his food.

“Now; I invited him to eat with us. Let me go get him.” Jinyoung says, as he gets up from his seat. Jaebum would be surprised at how fast Jinyoung set this whole thing up if he didn’t know him all his life. With Jinyoung gone, Jaebum has time to think about what he just let himself get suckered into. He’s never been one to compete for someone’s affections, especially that of a strangers. He actually has half a mind to just let Jinyoung do whatever he wants even if it will make his wallet cry later on.

“Here he is, Jaebum,” Jinyoung’s voice calls out and he looks up.

Jaebum doesn’t know what he expected, but he’s surprised to see a familiar pair of brown eyes staring back at him. He looks different without a hat on his head, but Jaebum wouldn’t forget those eyes.

“Holy shit, it’s the b-boy king!” Jackson gleefully crows as he skips around to the other side of the table and sweeps Jaebum in a hug as if they’re long-lost friends. Jaebum is a bit taken aback by the contact, but soon comes back to himself to return the hug and shoot a smug smile at Jinyoung over Jackson’s shoulder.

“You two know each other?” Jinyoung asks, his expression equal parts surprised, confused and annoyed.

“We’ve met before,” Jackson says as he pulls back at last. “I saw him while he was b-boying and struck up a conversation.”

“So, what are you doing in Seoul?” Jaebum asks. He’s honestly curious, but he leans in towards Jackson to annoy Jinyoung even more.

“You remember how my dad is a fencing coach? Well, the programme he teaches in moved from Suwon to Seoul, so here I am,” Jackson says with a bit of a flourish.

“Your dad’s a fencing coach? That’s cool, it’s an unusual profession. From the way you’re built, I’m guessing you’re his star pupil,” Jinyoung pipes up with an appreciative glance at Jackson’s body. To Jaebum’s eternal annoyance, Jackson giggles and flushes pleasantly at the comment.

“Well, I am quite good at what I do,” Jackson grins. He brings a hand behind his head and not-so-discreetly flexes his muscles. 

“I can see that,” Jaebum whistles as he reaches out to lightly squeeze his biceps. Jinyoung coughs.

‘That’s cheating,’ his eyes seem to say.

‘He’s touched me like this before,’ Jaebum thinks back.

“Whatever, anyway it’s a shame that we’re not all in the same class, but that doesn’t mean we can’t eat lunch together, right?” Jinyoung winks.

“Is it just the two of you?” Jackson asks, glancing between them.

“Mostly; the rest of the school is a bit intimidated by us,” Jaebum shrugs.

“Why though?” Jackson asks with a chuckle.

“Our good looks are a bit intimidating, are they not?” Jinyoung rubs his chin and tilts his head at different angles. Jackson giggles again and takes Jinyoung’s chin with his hand, pulling him forward and leaning in.

“Hmm, I think I see what you mean. I guess I’m just exceptionally brave,” he grins slyly. Jaebum feels a vein jump in his forehead. 

“Hello, Jaebum-hyung, Jinyoung-hyung. Ah, who is this?” A familiar voice says in Korean. 

Youngjae is already Jaebum’s favourite cousin, but he loves him even more now, Jaebum thinks as Jinyoung and Jackson sit back in their seats. Youngjae usually sits down after he greets them, but today he remains standing by Jinyoung’s side, eyes fixed on the newcomer.

“Youngjae, this is Jackson; he’s a fencer from Hong Kong. Jackson, this is my cousin, Youngjae. He used to go to a Korean school, so he’s not as comfortable with English.” It wasn’t his intent to embarrass the boy, but Youngjae’s sulky face as he takes a seat tells him he failed.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Your English is probably better than my Korean,” Jackson says in accented Korean, reaching out to hold the younger boy’s hand. Youngjae smiles a little before he crinkles up his nose.

“Don’t touch my body,” the younger boy says is slightly halting English, to the surprised laughter of Jackson.

“Your little cousin is too cute,” Jackson laughs as he turns to Jaebum. Jaebum can’t help but smile back. Jackson’s eyes seemed piercing and striking the last time he saw them, but now, with his tongue between his teeth, his face slightly flushed and his cheeks pushing them up, they just look beautiful. 

“Yes, little Youngjae is quite adorable,” Jinyoung says with a glob of milk in the corner of his mouth. Jaebum is about to point and laugh at him, but Jackson reaches out a hand and wipes away the milk with his thumb, bringing his hand up to lick it. Jinyoung winks at Jackson, Jackson winks back, and Jaebum glowers into his bowl of rice.

 

Jackson wasn’t anxious when he was told of their move from Suwon to Seoul. Sure, he would miss the friends he made in Suwon, but he’s already had to pack up and move over two thousand kilometres to a different country, leaving all his friends and most of his family behind; moving thirty four kilometres to a different city was nothing. 

When he walked through the gates he wonder if he would run into the b-boy he met earlier, but he was still a bit surprised to be literally lead right to him. 

And Jackson has never had trouble making friends, people have always been drawn to him, but forming a clique in four hours is a record for him. Jaebum, Jinyoung and Youngjae are all easy to get along with, but he can’t help but wish Mark could have come along with him, if only for his sake; God only knows who Mark is going to talk to with Jackson gone. 

“So, you’re a fencer?” Youngjae asks at lunch one day. He’s just started getting comfortable enough with Jackson to be using English with him. The way he speaks is so adorable; Jackson has to struggle to keep from grabbing the younger boy into a hug.

“Yes I am. And not just any fencer, you’re looking at the future champion of Asia.”

“Are you that good?” Youngjae asks with wide eyes. 

“Yes, indeed,” Jackson grins brightly. He’s glad Jinyoung reached out to him for several reasons, and having a little brother type admirer who gushes over everything he does is certainly one of them. 

“You should come with Jaebum and watch me practice one day.”

“Jaebum goes to your practices?” Jinyoung asks, looking at the older boy who digs into his food.

“Yeah, he said he was curious about what I do at training, so I invited him to come and watch.”

“And he went more than once?” Yeah, he’s there all the time now. Jackson doesn’t know what’s so interesting about that, but he doesn’t ask. 

“You, he and Youngjae should all come one day and form my own personal cheering section,” Jackson laughs.

“Sure, why not,” Jinyoung winks. That’s another reason Jackson’s glad the other boy brought him into his group of friends; Jinyoung is just as much of a flirt as he is. He loves Mark, bless his heart, but that’s something he won’t miss about his friend. Where Jinyoung will wink back and lean into Jackson until they’re dangerously close to kissing, Mark will just stare at Jackson like he just stepped out of a space pod. It’s too bad Mark couldn’t come with, Jackson thinks for the umpteenth time; he could use someone like Jinyoung to help loosen him up. 

“You might be able to get me into a ‘Go, Jackson!’ t-shirt, but I won’t cheer; it’s not my style,” Jaebum drawls. 

“That’s such a lie.” Jinyoung snorts “Jackson, you ought to see him at a b-boy tournament,” Jackson cackles as Jinyoung widens his mouth and eyes and jumps in his seat, “You wouldn’t recognise him.” 

“Oh shut up, Jinyoung,” Jaebum laughs despite himself with his ears turning red. This is the main reason he’s glad he joined Jinyoung for lunch. Jaebum has the right mix of corruptible potential and endearing goofiness that Jackson loves in a guy, and he’s fucking hot. Jinyoung is cute and charming, but Jackson finds himself more instinctively drawn towards Jaebum. It might be false hope or projection, but Jackson has a hunch that Jaebum feels the same.

To start with, Jaebum didn’t seem to be so interested in fencing to want to come and watch his practices just for the sake of it, and Jaebum has become enough of a regular fixture at practice that his team mates chat with him during breaks. 

“What do you think?” Jackson asks Mark one night via FaceTime as he lies on his bed, studiously ignoring his homework. 

“I’m no expert, but sounds like he likes you.” Jackson takes comfort in hearing Mark’s voice, even if it is slightly tinny.

“So, what do I do?” 

“Kiss him,” Mark shrugs. 

“Just like that?” Jackson asks doubtfully. 

“It sounds to me like you’re dancing around each other. One of you has to be brave and take that first step.”

“Oh, Mark, you’re so wise. You have got to come up here for university so we can be together again.” Mark rolls his eyes at him, but he’s also smiling.

“For now, you should go and finish the homework that I know you’re avoiding. Call me later when you’ve nutted up and claimed your man,” Mark grins cheekily before he hangs up.

Even with the confidence boost from Mark, two weeks pass before Jackson does anything to disturb their delicately constructed equilibrium. Jaebum is walking Jackson home from fencing practice, as he is wont to do now, and Jackson has been paying more attention to him than the path in front of him. He’s stepping out to cross a minor road, when he’s suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled back into a hard chest.

“Why’d you step right into the road like that? Didn’t you see that car?” Jaebum pants into his ear, his chest heaving against Jackson’s back. Jaebum starts to let go of him, but Jackson grabs his hands and holds them in place. 

“What are you-” Jackson turns his head to the side and tilts it up to catch Jaebum’s lips.

“Oh,” Jaebum blinks, and, for a second Jackson’s heart stops beating, but then Jaebum turns him fully around, and kisses him full on the lips. Oh.

“This should kinda go without saying, but I like you. Do you want to go out to eat sometime or something?” Jackson smiles shyly. To his delight, Jaebum kisses him again before he replies.

“Sure, I’d love to.”

 

“Can we just call this whole thing off?” Jaebum asks one day when he and Jinyoung are playing video games. 

“Why? You think I’m scared to lose? Just because you met Jackson before I did doesn’t mean I can’t still win, you know,” Jinyoung snorts, his eyes on the television. “We’re just about at equal levels of skinship now.”

Whatever lead Jaebum had on Jinyoung from the start has been lost to Jackson’s naturally touchy-feely personality. Even if he weren’t trying to get him into bed, Jinyoung would be glad for it. Jaebum is a lonely only child and his parents have never been the physically affectionate types, so he tends to be so awkward about touching other people. He’s certainly comfortable with Jinyoung now, but he was so hopeless when they first met. 

Jinyoung’s upbringing was the diametric opposite of Jaebum’s; since the day he was born, he has been showered with affection from both his parents – well, until five years ago– and his doting older sisters. As a result, physical affection with just about everyone comes easy to him.

Flirting in particular comes so easily to Jinyoung that he sometimes feels he has an unfair advantage when it comes to this wager he has with Jaebum. He’s not going to call it off though; Jaebum isn’t the only one who can be obstinate when he puts his mind to it, and he plans to see this one to the bitter end.

“No, I’m not scared,” Jaebum grumbles, “I just wonder at the…ethical implications of it.” Jinyoung laughs so hard he falls out of his plush chair. 

“I’m serious,” he hears Jaebum whine.

“What’s unethical about it?” Jinyoung chokes out as his body still shakes with laughter.

“Aren’t we basically lying to him? Tricking him into sexual contact under false pretences?”

“First of all, Counsel, your parents shouldn’t worry so much about you getting into law school. Second of all, what false pretences are you talking about? I think he’s hot and I want to fuck him and that’s how I’m approaching him. I’m not whispering in his ear that I’m going to put a ring on his finger and love him forever,” Jinyoung scoffs, “Are you?”

“No!” Jaebum chokes, his face flushing red.

“Im Jaebum,” Jinyoung says patiently, “I have known you all my life and I can see right through you. You really like Jackson, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Jaebum finally confesses. He says it to the floor, but Jinyoung hears it anyway.

“Why didn’t you just say so before?” 

“Dunno,” Jaebum shrugs. This is one thing Jinyoung will never understand about Jaebum. When he wants something from the older boy, he’ll let him know, but Jaebum would rather think his wish to you and pray that you develop telepathy. 

“Whatever,” Jinyoung rolls his eyes, “I haven’t made any real progress with him anyway.”

“What do you mean? You two are always so flirty together,” Jaebum says as he unsuccessfully tries to hide how jealous he is.

“Yes, we flirt and he’s fun to hang around with, but that’s it; it’s not like I know much more about the inner workings of his mind now than I did two months ago. If you think you and he could be something special, then go for it.”

Jinyoung meant the words when he said then, but he can’t help but regret them a bit now as he slowly but surely finds himself spending more time with his best friend’s cousin than his best friend. 

He tries not to feel too put out; after all, Jaebum has had to endure Jinyoung getting caught up in the excitement of a new relationship more times than the reverse, but still, it’s never been this bad before, and Jinyoung can’t help but feel like Jaebum is replacing him. 

One Thursday afternoon, Jinyoung sits down at their usual lunch table and is surprised to see free space on both sides of Jaebum. So Jackson is a detachable part, Jinyoung thinks a bit meanly.

“Did your boyfriend finally get tired of your ass and dump you at last?” He’s joking, but not really.

“No, he’s at a fencing tournament that’s on today, tomorrow and Saturday. I’ll end up missing his matches today and tomorrow, but I’m going to watch him on Saturday; do you want to come?” 

Jinyoung pinches his lips together, swallowing down the first comment that immediately jumps onto the tip of his tongue. ‘Don’t you stare at his ass enough at practice everyday?’ is what he wants to say, but instead he says, “Nah, I have a big test coming up and want to make sure I’m ready for it.” 

“You’ll do fine; you’re one of the top students in the school. Plus you’ve been studying a lot recently.” He’s been studying more because he’s got nothing better to do with Jaebum is too busy sniffing behind Jackson to hang out with him. 

“Thanks. Anyway, you have fun at Jackson’s tournament, but we are still on for Saturday night, right?” Jaebum can’t have forgotten. It’s a yearly tradition of theirs, and a damn important one at that. He can stand Jaebum running off to be with Jackson every other day of the year, but the evening of the 22nd of February is sacred.

“Please, don’t insult me,” Jaebum scoffs while flicking a few grains of rice at him, and something in Jinyoung’s chest unclenches. 

 

As Jaebum watches Jackson lunge at his opponent, he thinks of how wrong his first impression of Jackson was, though it truly more incomplete than outright wrong. He thought Jackson was carefree, happy-go-lucky and a bit naïve, and he is all those things, but he’s also focused, ambitious and determined. 

He initially thought Jackson was simply bluffing when he bragged about being a serious contender for becoming the junior champion of Asia, but as he watched him practice, he had to admit that he really has got the skill to match the mouth. Jaebum isn’t exactly an expert on fencing, but he notes the pleased and impressed looks that Jackson’s coach and fellow fencers adopted when they watched him spar with a team mate.

Jackson’s approach to fencing is the same as his approach to life in general; he puts his all into it, going on the attack more than the defence, and he completely captures everyone’s attention as he does it. Jaebum catches himself jumping in his seat more than a few times, caught up in the spectacle in ways that’s only ever been reserved for b-boying. 

When the match is finally called – Jackson winning 10-15 – Jackson pulls off his mask with a guttural yell. His eyes scan the spectator seats until he finds Jaebum and then he beams even brighter. Jaebum finds himself grinning back equally wide. 

“So, have you finally realised how much of an amazing fencer I am?” Jackson asks with a cocky grin as soon as they meet up after the match. 

“I have indeed,” Jaebum says sincerely. That makes Jackson preen like a peacock before he drops his gaze to the ground. 

“Look, a bunch of us made plans to go out tonight, but fuck that, do you wanna stay in with me instead?” A laugh bursts out of Jaebum at the unexpected end to that sentence. Jackson laughs too, the high-pitched giggle that makes Jaebum smile no matter what. Something at the back of his mind niggles at him; he feels like there’s something he’s supposed to do, but he can’t remember what it is, and the way Jackson is smiling hopefully at him makes him not care.

“Sure, I’d love to,” Jaebum grins.

 

His father is a no-show, but over these past few years Jinyoung has come to expect that as much he expects the flower in his hand to fall to the ground when he lets go of it. His father completely shut down and became distant after his mother died, and the anniversary of her passing is when he’s at his worst. There’s a bouquet of flowers delivered to the grave, but that was almost certainly arranged by his assistant. 

“I’m sorry your husband became so neglectful you in death when he was so attentive to you in life,” Jinyoung mutters, unsure if he’s talking to himself or to his mother’s remains. 

It can’t be more than five minutes since the last time he checked his watch, but he does it again. It’s half past nine. Jinyoung inhales deeply before he releases the breath slowly. He and Jaebum have never had a set time to do this, but for the last couple times, they ended up coming around 8pm, his mother’s approximate time of death. Still, they’ve done it as late as 11pm before; it’s fine as long as it’s before midnight.

Jinyoung doesn’t think Jaebum needs reminding –there’s no way he could forgot this, no matter how far he’s crawled up Jackson’s ass– but he decides to give him a call to see where he is.

“I’m sorry, but the number you are dialling is unavailable at this time. Please leave a message after the tone.”

It doesn’t even ring; it just goes straight to voicemail. So, either Jaebum has his phone turned off or he forgot to charge it, like an idiot, and his battery is dead. Jinyoung frowns before he records his message.

“Jaebum, it’s me. I’m at the cemetery. Don’t keep me waiting too long, alright? It’s fucking cold today.”

Jinyoung turns and rests his back against the stone before he brings up a game of scrabble to pass the time. 

 

An unknown amount of time later, Jinyoung opens his eyes. He stretches languidly, rotating his neck and shoulders to work out a kink that he probably got from his awkward rest on the headstone. He blinks blearily, raising his hand to check the time. Too late he realises it’s too dark to see his watch face; he checks his phone instead. 

For a long moment he stares at the screen, seeing but not actually registering the time. There’s no way that could be right; he wasn’t even that tired, he couldn’t have slept so long, Jaebum couldn’t possibly have not show up yet. Jinyoung uses the light from his phone to illuminate the face of his watch, and he feels his body tremble as he reads 12:27am on both his watch and his phone.

He swallows hard as he realises that, for the first time ever, Jaebum didn’t show up to commemorate his mother’s passing. At first he’s incredibly disappointed, until he realises just how out of character this is and then he starts to worry. What if Jaebum isn’t answering his phone because something happened to him?

He jumps up and starts chewing on his fingernail in worry. But then his phone pings and an email alert pops up. With surprise, he notes it’s from Jaebum. He opens the message and his entire body goes cold to the core before he’s consumed by white hot rage.

 

Jackson takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. It’s been a few minutes since he came, but Jackson’s entire body still feels electrified and sensitive. Jaebum is spooned up behind him with his face buried in his hair and an arm thrown over his waist. Jackson feels his body shiver and tremble at the combined sensation of Jaebum breathing against the nape of his neck and lightly stroking his stomach with his finger tips. 

“You alright?” Jaebum asks as he gently kisses the back of his neck. It makes Jackson feel heavy and light at the same time. He turns over on his other side and presses a kiss to Jaebum’s lips. The other boy seems surprised but definitely not unhappy.

“I’m better than alright,” Jackson breathes as he pulls away. 

“That’s good to hear,” Jaebum grins. He wraps his arm back around Jackson’s waist and pulls him back in for another kiss, his other hand stroking Jackson’s sweat soaked locks.

What starts as gentle kissing turns into something more intense as Jackson gets high on the feeling on Jaebum’s naked body pressed against his. Jackson rolls himself on top of the older boy and grinds their hardening cocks together.

“Wait, aren’t you sore?” Jaebum asks between kisses.

“A bit, but why should I let that stop me?” Jackson grins. 

“Fair enough, but I’m kinda tired, still,” Jaebum says helplessly.

“Pfft whatever, grandpa. You just sit back and let me take care of things.” Jackson slides down and away from Jaebum’s body to get another condom from Jaebum’s bedside table. After rolling the condom on Jaebum, Jackson straddles his waist from behind. Looking coyly over his shoulder, Jackson bites his lip and flutters his eyelashes as he wiggles his tantalising behind.

“Alright, grandpa’s had enough rest.” Jaebum sits up and grabs Jackson by the hips. Jackson squeals and wiggles even harder, but doesn’t actually try to escape. Jaebum kneels behind him and adjusts himself at Jackson’s entrance, before he’s pushing inside. 

“You alright?” Jackson hears from behind.

“Yeah, it burns a bit, but I kinda like it,” Jackson reaches back a hand to slap Jaebum on the hip, “So move your ass.”

“Shut up.” Jaebum slaps his ass in retaliation, but, of course, he just enjoys that.

“I didn’t know you were into that, JB. Kinky,” Jackson grins saucily at him from over his shoulder. 

“To think you were so quiet ten minutes ago,” Jaebum grunts.

“I was tired. You’re gonna have to tire me out if you really want me to shut up,” Jackson pants with a wink.

“Challenge accepted.” 

Jaebum pulls back Jackson’s hips until he loses his balance and falls face-first into the pillow below. All Jackson can do is whimper helplessly as Jaebum holds him down by the shoulders and slams into him; his erection goes neglected with him unable to touch it or rub it into the sheets.

Jaebum stops moving and suddenly all his weight is leaning on Jackson’s back before he’s rolled over and bouncing in Jaebum’s lap.

“Ah, Jaebum, please,” Jackson pants. Jaebum stops thrusting for a second, and Jackson hears Jaebum groan as he wiggles his hips, trying to sink down even further.

“Behave,” is breathed into his ear before Jaebum sits up and wraps one arm around his waist and one hand around his cock. His head rests on Jackson’s shoulder as he cries out and desperately tries to thrust up into Jaebum’s hand. 

“Ah, shit, Jaebum!” The feeling of Jackson squirming on his cock as his walls clench from orgasm and the sounds of his moaning is apparently enough to bring Jaebum the rest of the way off because the older boy starts shaking and groaning beneath him. They fall on their sides, Jaebum still buried deep inside Jackson.

 

“So, did I succeed?” Jaebum whispers breathlessly into Jackson’s ear; he’s met with silence. Frowning, Jaebum leans up to see the other boy dozing. He was so erotic before, but now he looks so sweet and innocent that Jaebum smiles to himself as he strokes the sweaty locks out of his face. He leans down and plants a soft kiss on Jackson’s forehead. Jaebum thinks that he’s so happy he could die.

He carefully eases himself out of the other boy and rolls over to grab his clothes. After a bit of searching, he pulls out his phone. He curls up behind Jackson again and holds the phone above their bodies, careful to keep the lens focused above their waists, before he snaps the picture.

 

Jackson doesn’t know why he bothered to come to the gym this morning. He hasn’t got a competition coming up for months and he’s still sore as hell from last night. Even though he’s tried to take it easy, even his warm up routine has him crying. Still, he can’t regret spending the night with Jaebum, he thinks with a grin.

“Jackson! Hey, Jackson, I think we need to talk.” Jackson hears from behind and turns around to see Jinyoung jogging up to him. That’s odd; he’s been coming to the gym regularly for months, but he’s never seen the other boy here before. 

“Oh, hey Jinyoung. What is it?” Jackson shifts his duffel bag to a more comfortable position.

“It’s better if we go somewhere private for this,” Jinyoung says as he glances around the gym. 

“Um, alright then, we can go to my dad’s office.” Jinyoung nods and gestures for him to lead the way.

“What’s this about then?” Jackson asks as soon as the door closes behind them.

“It’s Jaebum, there’s something he’s not telling you,” Jinyoung says with a sigh.

“What is it? Is he sick or something?” Jackson asks, brows furrowing in worry.

“No, nothing like that. It’s…look, there’s so easy way to say this, so don’t be offended if this is a bit too blunt or crude, but he bet me that he could sleep with you before I did.” Jackson feels the floor disappear beneath him.

“I thought it was a joke – we make jokes like that sometimes – and so I played along with it and flirted with you. The other day he said he wanted to call the whole thing off, and I thought that he was done joking…until I got this message last night,” Jinyoung takes out his phone and fiddles with it for a moment before he turns the screen towards Jackson. 

“Jackson, are you okay?” Jinyoung rushes forward to catch him and he helps him into his dad’s leather chair. Every other time he sits in this chair he feels comfortable and powerful, but there’s nothing that can ease the spinning of his head, the churning of his stomach, the pain in his chest.

“I can’t believe it,” he hears his own voice as though it’s coming from a miles away.

“I’m sorry,” Jinyoung says, and he certainly does sound and look it, “I thought you should know. I was so shocked when I got it. I didn’t know Jaebum would use you like that.” Jackson feels his skin crawl at Jinyoung’s last sentence. 

“Thanks for telling me,” Jackson says faintly, “But could you…”

“I understand, I’ll go. I’m really sorry.”

Jackson slumps into his father’s chair, eyes clenched shut as he takes deep breaths and tries to hold back the dam behind his eyes. He’s jolted by the vibration of his phone in his pocket; it’s a text. From Jaebum. 

‘hey, you finished with training yet? wanna come over and watch a movie?’

It’s so heartbreakingly normal that Jackson kind of hates Jinyoung for shattering his sweet illusion. Gathering up all his strength, Jackson sends back a text.

‘yeah sure, be there in a few minutes’

It’s devoid of the usual emojis that he likes to punctuate his texts with; it wouldn’t take anything to add one, but he just can’t bring himself to do it. He won’t be able to be himself again until he gets confirmation from Jaebum’s own mouth. That post-coital picture of them and the accompanying ‘i won’ message is very damning, but he needs to hear it from Jaebum.

But first, he has to make it to Jaebum’s house. It feels like an impossible distance, but he takes it one step at a time, putting one foot in front of the other. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot…

He makes steady, if incredibly slow progress, but apparently he’s taking so long that Jaebum has run out to meet him on the street. 

“Hey, are you that tired from training that you can’t even lift your feet? Or is it from something else?” Jaebum is smiling that adorable eye smile that would have Jackson feeling warm on any other day, but today he’s unmoved. 

“Are you alright? You look upset.” Jaebum reaches out to put his hands on Jackson’s shoulders, but Jackson flinches back from his touch. Jaebum’s mouth drops open in shock.

“Did you make a bet with Jinyoung to see who could fuck me first?” His voice is rough, like he removed it from his voice box and ran it over a cheese grater a few times before he put it back. 

“I, I, Jackson, I…” Jackson bites down hard on his lower lip as he feels his eyes fill with tears. 

“Just say it,” he barely manages to choke out in a strangled voice.

“Technically, I did, but, Jackson– ”

“You fucking asshole!” Jackson spits out as the tears finally leak from his eyes. 

“No, you’ve got it wrong. You need to listen to me–”

“I don’t need to do shit!” Jackson turns to leave, but Jaebum grabs his arm.

“It’s not what you think! You don’t know the whole story.” 

“I know enough, so fuck off, JB. Just fuck off!” Jackson rips his arm away and swings at Jaebum, catching him right in the chest, before he runs off.

“Jackson!” he hears Jaebum call out behind him, but he doesn’t look back or stop.

 

“Park Jinyoung, what the fuck have you done?!” Jaebum’s voice is magnified by the emptiness of the house, the sound being carried to the most remote corners from its origin.

Jinyoung turns away from the television show that he’s been blankly staring at for the past hour in anticipation of this moment. Jaebum is red-faced and panting like he ran all the way Busan, with his fists clenched at his sides.

“There’s no need to swear at me, that’s so uncivilised. And, I’m sitting right here, you don’t need to yell either,” Jinyoung says in that gently patronising tone of voice that he knows Jaebum loathes. Sure enough, the sound of a small explosion echoes through the house as Jaebum slams the door behind him before he stalks into the living room, not bothering to remove his shoes, and looms over Jinyoung.

“You told him. You told Jackson about the bet. Why did you do that we called it off weeks ago? You know it wasn’t just a game to me,” the older boy seethes as he bends down to cage Jinyoung into his seat, his hands braced on either side of his head. Jinyoung stares back coolly; he’s grown up watching Jaebum lose his temper, he can’t find it in him to be intimidated by it, though he can’t deny the thrill he gets from having it directed at him. This must be what people feel when they jump out of planes with nothing but ropes and fabric separating them from instant death.

“Yes, I told him. I figured he should know that whatever relationship you have was initially based in ulterior motives. Wasn’t that the ethical thing to do?” Jinyoung finally speaks, his voice as flat and cold as the wall Jaebum has him backed up against.

“That wasn’t for you to do. I was…If anything I should have been the one to tell him…” Jaebum trails off, looking and sounding like a lost child. Jinyoung almost feels sorry for what he did. Almost. 

“I should have been the one to tell him!” Jaebum punches the wall right next to Jinyoung’s head.

“Answer me, Jinyoung! Why the fuck did you-” Jaebum’s next words are swallowed up as Jinyoung pulls him into a harsh kiss that’s more teeth than lips. There’s no desire in this kiss, no suggestion of taking things further; it’s a kiss filled with nothing but pure desperation and a hint of fear. It lasts about five seconds before Jinyoung is harshly shoving Jaebum away.

“Why? What do you mean ‘why’? Did you think I would just sit back and do nothing while you were about to drop me a stone? After all these years we’ve had together?”

“What do you mean, ‘drop you’? Jinyoung, you’re my best friend. Or at least you were,” Jaebum snarls.

“You haven’t fucking acted like it. Not since you got hung up on Jackson that is,” Jinyoung says his name like a curse.

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it fucking is! Do you even remember what day yesterday was?” 

For a moment Jaebum’s face goes blank in the way that it does when he’s desperately wracking his brain for an answer while trying not to look like he’s desperately wracking his brain for an answer. Jinyoung isn’t surprised, but he feels his stomach drop and his heart fill with ice anyway. Jinyoung knows the exact moment when Jaebum finally remembers because his face immediately becomes ashen, the tension in his body draining with the blood.

“Jinyoung,” he breathes, reaching a hand out to the younger boy. Jinyoung viciously slaps it away. “Jinyoung, please, I’m so-”

“I don’t want to hear it. Just get out.”

“You know, even though I fucked up, that still didn’t give you the right to-”

“I said get out!”

There’s a pause, and then Jaebum is padding over to the door and closing behind him with a lot less force compared to his entrance, leaving Jinyoung alone in his empty house.

 

Jaebum runs his hand through his hair as he checks his phone for the tenth time in two minutes to see if Jackson has responded to any of his texts. He didn’t hear the notification sound, but he still checks, just in case. He wishes he had never made that stupid bet with Jinyoung, wishes that he had called it off the second he realised who the new transfer student was.

Jaebum thought fucking up with Jinyoung and fucking up with Jackson would be the end of it, but he’s wrong. He expected Jackson ignoring his texts and Jinyoung shutting him out, but he wasn’t expecting the cold look in Youngjae’s eyes as he met up with him to walk to school on Monday. 

‘What have I done now?’ he thinks as he sighs deeply. He’s tempted to ask, but judging by the furtive glances the younger boy keeps shooting him, he won’t have to wait long to find out.

“Did you really make a bet with Jinyoung-hyung to see which of you could sleep with Jackson-hyung first?” Youngjae asks in that way people ask a question that they already know the answer to. 

“Yeah, I did,” Jaebum says eventually. He should have known what was wrong immediately. It’s no secret that Youngjae is one of Jackson’s biggest fans. 

He doesn’t bother to try to explain or defend himself; that got him nowhere with Jackson, he figures it won’t get him anywhere with Youngjae either. Besides, a sick part of him kind of enjoys the constant punishment that one mistake has brought him. He’s lost his life-long friend and someone he could grow to love all at once, why not have his family disown him too?

For a long time Youngjae doesn’t say anything, he just stares down at his shoes as the two of them trudge along to school, but Jaebum can see him chewing over the words he will eventually say.

“Hyung, you’re my family and I love you. We’re cousins, but I’ve thought of you more as my brother and I’ve looked up to you all my life as you’ve looked out for me. You’re not perfect, but this is the most disappointed I’ve ever felt with you. Don’t wait for me after school today; I really don’t want to see you. I’ll walk home alone.”

Jaebum nods mutely, too stricken to speak. He thought he could handle whatever the younger boy would dish out to him, but this is worse, so much worse, than Jackson’s hurt or Jinyoung’s spite. Youngjae will probably be the first one to forgive him, but he just can’t deal with this cold treatment from him. Jaebum feels his steps slow as his shoes feel like they’ve been filled with iron. He’s falling farther and farther behind Youngjae, until he finally comes to a stop. 

If he squints he can just about see the school gate, but he’s not going to school today. School was only enjoyable because of Jinyoung and, lately, Jackson; he can’t imagine spending the entire day trapped in there without either of them to talk to. So, he walks over to the bus stop and jumps on the first bus that passes by, not knowing and not caring where it will take him. 

 

Jackson is strangely quiet as he strips off his fencing gear and heads off to the showers. He didn’t think he’d be so upset by Jaebum that his fencing skills would go to shit, but the scoreboard doesn’t lie. He knows his team mates and his father are wondering what’s up – hell, so is he. 

“Jackson, what’s got you so messed up? I haven’t seen you fence this sloppily in a long time. Yugyeom is improving little by little, but he is nowhere near the level where he should be beating you of all people 5-15.” 

Jackson sighs and runs a hand through his damp hair. He could tell from the look on his father’s face in the gym that a talk was imminent, but he hoped it wouldn’t be the second they got inside the car.

“I didn’t say anything in front of the others because I want to find out what’s wrong, not humiliate you, but you need to tell me,” his father says when Jackson remains silent.

“It’s stupid, really,” Jackson mumbles to his lap, fiddling with his phone.

“Is it about a girl?” Jackson pauses and takes a deep breath, summoning all his courage to say his next words.

“It’s about a guy.”

“Is it that boy from your school who used to come to watch you practice? I noticed he wasn’t here today.”

Jackson didn’t know what sort of response he was going to get, but he certainly hadn’t expected that. For a minute he sits as a number of thoughts run through his head, ‘You knew?’, ‘How long have you known?’, ‘Was I that obvious?’, but all he says is “Yes, him.”

“What happened?” 

They’ve stopped at a red light and Jackson finally turns to look at his father, who is staring back at him with nothing but love and concern shining in his eyes. If that wasn’t enough to get Jackson all choked up, his father then reaches out a run and strokes his hair off his forehead the way he used to when Jackson was still small enough to be carried around in his arms.

“What happened?” he repeats in a gentle voice. The light turns green, but he keeps his hand on Jackson’s head as the car starts moving again.

“He lied to me. He was just pretending to be interested in me as part of some stupid bet with his friend.” The words spill out of Jackson, urged out by the hypnotising comfort of his father stroking his hair.

“I thought he really liked me, but I was just a plaything to him, something to pass time with because he was bored.” Jackson would be mortified at how much he sounds like a thirteen year old girl who just got dumped by her first boyfriend, but his emotions are too raw to for him to care. Up until now, he’s focused solely on how angry he was at Jaebum, suppressing the hurt and betrayal, but now it’s overpowering him like a tidal wave.

The car is stopping, and then Jackson is tearing off his seatbelt and clambering over the gear shift to climb into his father’s arms and sob. It’s awkward and uncomfortable as fuck, the gear stick is digging into his back and his head is wedged against the roof of the car, but Jackson doesn’t care as long as his dad keeps stroking his hair and back, and carries on whispering soothing nonsense into his ears.

Jackson has no idea how much time has passed when the nonsense in his ears starts to sound like actual words, things like ‘It’s alright’, ‘I’m here’, and ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

“I kinda want to just forget the whole thing,” Jackson says as he sits back, trying to regain some dignity by wiping the tears and snot off his face with his shirt.

“And how has that been working so far?” His father asks dryly, but not unkindly. Jackson feels his face flush a bit at being called out. He’s about to try to come up with some kind of defence, when his phone rings, the sound magnified in the small space. It’s Youngjae.

“Jackson-hyung, have you seen Jaebum-hyung at all today? He skipped school yesterday and didn’t go home last night. He didn’t show up for school today either and it seems like I’m the last person to see him.” Jackson’s stomach plunges to the floor.

“No, no I haven’t seen him,” says a familiar-sounding, faraway voice.

“Oh God, what could have happened to him? I feel terrible because the last thing I said to him was so, so,” Youngjae can’t finish his sentence, but Jackson knows exactly what he means. He swallows hard as he remembers his last words to Jaebum, “Fuck off, JB, just fuck off.”

“Alright, calm down, we need to go about this logically. Have you checked all his usual haunts?” Jackson strips his voice of all the panic he feels for the younger boy’s sake.

“We’ve checked everywhere we can think of. Jinyoung-hyung hasn’t seen him either.” Jackson bites his lip; if his best friend doesn’t know where he is, then this is serious. With all the likely places covered, he wracks his brains for the unlikely places. 

“Youngjae, I have no idea if I’m right, but I thought of one place he just might be.”

“You do? Where?”

“It’s where we first met. He said he didn’t go there too often, but it’s worth a look, right?”

“Right.”

“It’s kind of a ways away, so you keep checking in town and I’ll go check it out.”

“Thank you so much for your help, Jackson-hyung.”

“No problem,” he says before he hangs up.

“What’s all this about?” his father asks.

“Um, the guy we were talking about has been missing for almost two days. I guess I just volunteered to go look for him,” Jackson says, nervously while scratching the back of his neck.

“Alright, where are we going then?” Jackson blinks in surprise. “You said it was far away, surely you can’t walk there.” 

“Daddy…”

“Well, come on then. I saw on tv that the first 48 hours are the most vital in a missing persons case; we need to get going.” Jackson nods before he tells him where and plugs in the address into the sat-nav. 

 

Once the car finally pulls in view of the arena, Jackson jumps out, not even waiting for it to come to a complete stop. He can see a sole figure moving around in the distance, and his feet fly over the asphalt towards it.

When he gets close enough to recognise him, there’s a half second where Jackson is too caught up in watching the fluid way that Jaebum moves, illuminated by the moonlight, to remember that he’s furious with him. It’s like that first day they met all those months ago in another lifetime. But then Jaebum stops and turns to face him, and all the rage comes racing back.

“JB, you fucking asshole! What’s with the fucking disappearing act?! Do you have any idea how worried, how worried Youngjae is?!” He manages to catch himself just before he lets it slip that he was worried about him too.

“What the fuck is your problem, man?” Jackson spits at Jabeum’s face, expecting some kind of response, verbal or otherwise. Jaebum simply stares blankly at him before he eases himself down on the ground.

“What the fuck are you doing? Get up. You have to come back, dumbass.” Jackson crosses the remaining space between them and reaches down to grab Jaebum by the arm to haul him up. The older boy’s skin is ice cold to the touch.

“Where did you put your school jacket? What kind of idiot are you to be running around in the middle of the night in winter with no jacket on?” Jackson says more to himself than to Jaebum; it’s not like the other boy is responding to anything he says anyway. 

“Whatever, you can borrow mine in the meantime.”

Jackson takes out his phone and quickly dials Youngjae’s number; the younger boy picks up on the first ring.

“Jackson-hyung, did you find him?” Youngjae sounds so beside himself in worry that Jackson feels a surge of outrage on his behalf, and he slaps Jaebum on the head for causing it; Jaebum’s only reaction is to blink.

“Uh, yeah I did. He’s safe, but weirdly catatonic.” Jackson regrets saying that because Youngjae sounds even more worried than before.

“What do you mean? Is he hurt? Is he unconscious?”

“No, no, he’s uninjured as far as I can see – hell he was dancing when I found him. He’s just cold and refuses to talk for some reason.” Thankfully, Youngjae seems to calm down a bit at this information.

“Oh thank God he’s alright. I haven’t seem him like that in a long time, but he gets that way when he’s thinking a lot. It’s like he’s trapped inside his own head. He’ll come back to normal sooner or later.” Even if Youngjae’s familiar with this weird non-fleshing-eating zombie version of Jaebum, it still freaks Jackson out to see him look so out of it. “Where are you, by the way?”

“Suwon,” Jackson sighs.

“Suwon? What on earth was he doing there?”

“Never mind that, my task now is to get him back. Depending on traffic, I’d say it’ll take me and my dad about seventy to ninety minutes,” Jackson says lightly.

“Thank you so much, Jackson-hyung. Our family owes you a lot for you going so far out of your way to help my cousin, especially after he, well you know.” Jackson cringes to himself; the hurt was already starting to seep back into his mind after the initial anger at finding Jaebum fucking around so far from home had faded, but Youngjae’s comment only serves to remind him that he was crying his eyes out over Jaebum only a few hours ago.

“Don’t worry about it, though if you really want to thank me, you can buy me whatever I want for dinner one day. I’ll even give you time to save up to treat me,” Jackson forces out a laugh, hoping it sounds more casual to Youngjae than it does to himself. 

“Sure thing, hyung. I’ll buy whatever you want. I’ll see you in a bit. I’m going to tell auntie and uncle that he’s safe.”

“Yeah, see you.” Jackson hangs up, sighing in relief. He looks down to see Jaebum’s dark eyes staring up at him inscrutably. Jackson starts and takes an unconscious step backwards. Then he calls out to his father and asks him for help to move Jaebum out of the cold and into their nice, warm car so they can get him home and out of their hair.

Jackson expects that he and his dad are going to have to physically lift Jaebum, but the other boy trudges to his feet when the older man tells him to get up. Jackson can’t help but scowl at Jaebum’s back as he follows him back to the car. He’ll completely ignore Jackson but obey his dad so easily; what the hell?

After they get Jaebum in the backseat, Jackson is about to take his place in the passenger seat at the front when he’s stopped by his father’s hand on his arm.

“Sit with him in the back. You’ve got over an hour to try to work things out with him.” Jackson frowns, about to decline when his father continues, “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. If you’re worried about talking with me listening, then don’t worry, I don’t want to hear it either.” He takes out a pair of ear buds out of his pocket and waves them significantly.

There are still several protests on Jackson’s tongue –playing music that loud is probably a traffic violation; what’s the point when Jaebum won’t talk to him anyway?– but he swallows them and gets into the backseat. Jaebum is shivering while he holds Jackson’s jacket close to his body. He turns when Jackson gets in and starts to remove it, but Jackson stops him.

“Don’t; you need it more than I do right now.” Jaebum surprises him by nodding slightly, his bluish lips quivering. It’s not much, but it’s the most acknowledgement that Jackson has gotten from him all night.

For a long time the two of them sit in silence, the only sounds breaking up the stillness of the car coming from Jackson’s dad tapping the steering wheel as he hums along to whatever song is playing on his phone.

“Why did you do it?” Jackson asks at last. Jaebum sighs deeply before he opens his mouth to answer.

“To begin with, I didn’t know it was you. Jinyoung said there was a new transfer student, but I didn’t know who it was before I agreed.”

“So why didn’t you call it off after you found out it was me?” Jackson struggles to keep his voice low, paranoid about being overheard by his father.

“I did actually.” Jackson turns to look at him in confusion.

“It was weeks ago. Jinyoung sussed out the fact that I liked you for real and we called it off. The bet wasn’t a big deal to him; he just wanted to prove a point. We didn’t say anything about it at the time, but I assumed he wouldn’t tell you about it.”

“If that’s the case, then why did you take that picture of us and send it with that message?” Jackson asks, trying to keep his voice neutral. It’s not that he thinks Jaebum is lying to him, but that picture has been etched into the back his mind ever since Jinyoung showed it to him. “If the bet was off, why did you write ‘I won’?”

“How do you know about that picture?” Jaebum asks with raised brows.

“Jinyoung showed it to me,” Jackson frowns.

“Jinyoung? How did he…oh fuck,” Jaebum groans as he buries his face in his hands.

“What?” Jackson is so confused right now.

“He wasn’t supposed to see that; no-one but me was supposed to see that. I thought I was emailing it to myself,” he groans. “And I wrote that message because I felt like I had just won at life. I felt high as a fucking kite,” Jaebum’s muffled voice comes from behind his hands. Jackson has to look away and pinch his thighs to keep himself from laughing; he’s not quite ready to let Jaebum off the hook just yet.

“Okay, I believe you, but I want you to how fucking gutted I was when Jinyoung came to me and told me what you did. I couldn’t believe it at first. I tried to hold out hope until I asked you and your guilty face gave it away.” Jackson turns back to Jaebum and sees him sitting up, with that awful, creepy lifelessness returning to his eyes.

“But, being the awesome person that I am, I’m willing to forgive you and forget this whole thing if you apologise sincerely,” Jackson rushes to add.

“Jackson,” Jaebum says, reaching out to hold his hand. Jackson jumps a bit in his seat, and he finds himself blinking rapidly as Jaebum stares at him intently while he rubs the back of his hand with his thumb.

“I’m so sorry I hurt you. I wish I had called off the bet from day one, that I never accepted it at all. I’m also sorry I let you find out in the worst way. Nothing I said or did with you was a lie, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to be with me like that anymore. I’ll settle with just being friends if you forgive me.”

“Jaebum, I don’t want to be your friend,” Jackson whispers. Jackson sees Jaebum’s face fall and feels him pulling his hand away. Jackson holds onto it firmly and repeats, “I don’t want to be friends,” with intent. Jaebum blinks in surprise a few times before the other shoe finally drops. 

“Jackson,” Jaebum breathes as a montage of emotions flashes across his face. Jackson feels his cheeks hurt from the force of the grin on his face as Jaebum squeezes his hand back. Jaebum stares at him before he starts to inch forward, his gaze switching between Jackson’s eyes and his lips. In response, Jackson licks his lips and purses them a bit. Jaebum gets within arms’ length before Jackson’s dad has a very sudden and very loud coughing fit. Jaebum and Jackson leap to opposite sides of the backseat.

“Don’t mind me, it’s just hay fever,” Jackson’s father mutters to himself with a glance in the rear view mirror. Jackson can’t believe he forgot he was there. 

In his peripheral vision he sees Jaebum reaching his hand toward him from his side of the backseat, smiling shyly. Jackson reaches out his own hand and laces their fingers together.

His arm is going to cramp from holding it out in the middle of the backseat for so long, but he makes no move to let go as the car makes its way into Seoul. 

 

“Hyung, you’re alright! Why did you just disappear like that? Don’t do that ever again!” Jaebum almost falls over as he’s rushed by Youngjae, who clings to him and weeps. 

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to get away to think. I ended up getting too wrapped up in my own thoughts. I’m sorry I worried you,” he mumbles into his hair as he runs his free hand down the younger boy’s back.

“Thanks again for bringing him back, Jackson-hyung,” Youngjae turns to him when he blinks in surprise at finding him so close. Youngjae pulls away from Jaebum and sees that they’re holding hands; his eyebrows go up in surprise. Jaebum’s shy grin belies his half-hearted attempts to wrest his hand from Jackson’s.

“Well, that was quick,” Youngjae says with his eyes on their joined hands. 

“Haha, yeah we talked and everything’s all resolved now,” Jackson says while swinging their hands. Jaebum feels the corners of his lips start to curl upwards before he remembers the unshed tears that glistened in Jinyoung’s eyes.

“What’s wrong, hyung?”

“I fucked up and Jinyoung and I had a fight.”

“How bad was it?” Youngjae asks with furrowed brows.

“Really bad, like fucking awful. If I don’t fix it, we won’t be friends anymore,” Jaebum says, running a hand anxiously through his hair.

“What did you do?” Jackson asks. 

“To start with I’ve, uh I’ve kind of been ditching him lately to hang out with you, but the real fuck up was me missing the annual visit to Jinyoung’s mother’s grave that we do. I completely forgot about it,” Jaebum says with a wince. Now that he’s made up with Jackson and Youngjae, his mind is clear enough to realise the magnitude of the hurt he cause his lifelong friend. 

“Well that’s, that’s bad. Really uncool, dude,” Jackson slaps him on the arm with one hand, doesn’t let go of his other hand. “What should we do to fix this?” Jaebum can’t help but smile a bit at his use of the word ‘we’.

“Well, he currently hates you and me, and will probably ignore our calls, so Youngjae probably has to approach him first.”

“Wait, why does he hate me? What did I do to him?” Jackson asks with a scrunched up face.

“Weren’t you listening? He hates you because I was ditching him for you. To him, you’re the wanton home wrecker that’s stolen his only friend.” Jackson aims a kick at him for that description.

“He doesn’t hate me even though I’m your cousin?” Youngjae asks, pointing to himself.

“Awww, Youngjae, you’re so cute. Who could hate you?” Jackson coos at him, pulling him into a side hug. Youngjae blinks in bemusement, but lets Jackson hold him anyway. 

“Okay, so what’s the plan?”

 

“Jinyoung-hyung, Jaebum-hyung has finally been found!” Jinyoung cautiously looks up from the notes he hasn’t been reading and the food he hasn’t been eating while trying not to look interested at this news. 

“Oh, really? Where was he all this time anyway?”

“He skipped school to have some time to himself, but he had a nasty run-in with some iljins who beat him up, robbed him, and left him in an alley,” Youngjae pants as he rests his hands on the table. Jinyoung can’t stop his eyes from widening at this news.

“Is he alright?”

“He’s in stable condition, the doctors say his life isn’t in danger, but he keeps drifting in and out of consciousness.” The younger boy opens his mouth as if to say something else, but then he snaps it shut.

“What is it?” Jaebum apparently isn’t dying, so what information could his cousin possibly be holding back?

“He…he keeps calling out for you,” Youngjae eventually mumbles.

“Me?” Jinyoung asks incredulously and with not a small amount if bitterness, “Not Jackson?”

“You,” Youngjae confirms, looking completely serious. Jinyoung stares down at the table as he fingers the straw sticking out of his milk.

“Can you take me to see him?” he finally asks. Youngjae came to him, he doesn’t know why he’s so worried about his response, but his stomach unclenches when the younger boys nods.

“I’m going after school. Could you meet me at the school gates at 5:15pm?” 

“Yeah, sure.” 

“Thank you, Jinyoung-hyung,” Youngjae says before he leaves Jinyoung to his cold food.

 

When he meets up with Youngjae at the end of the day, he’s no closer to figuring out what he’s going to say when he sees Jaebum. It will probably depend on how badly beat up he is. When they finally make it to the Asan Medical Centre, Jinyoung feels his pulse speed up in anxiety. A small part of him thought -hoped?- that Youngjae wasn’t telling the truth about Jaebum, but it seems like he really is hurt.

Although he’s been picturing it in his mind all day, his breath still catches in his throat when he sees Jaebum lying on the hospital bed; his lip is split, his head is bandaged and his hands are bruised where they lie splayed on his barley-moving chest. 

“Jesus Christ, Jaebum,” Jinyoung swears as he moves further into the room. He stops short when he faintly hears his name leave the others’ lips.

“Jinyoungie, ‘s that you?” He feels a small hand push his back and he stumbles into the chair by Jaebum’s bedside.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m here.” Jinyoung checks to see that Youngjae is leaving the room before he takes Jaebum’s hand. “I’m here.”

“Jinyoung, ‘m so sorry. I can’t believe I forgot.” Jinyoung feels his teeth clench at the reminder of why they’re at odds with each other, but doesn’t let go of Jaebum’s hand. 

“No matter how much I like Jackson, you’re my best friend and I shouldn’t have let you down like that.” Jinyoung nods to show that he hears him, but doesn’t look at him or say anything.

“Jinyoung, please... I’m so sorry I hurt you that I provoked a bunch of punks and let them kick the shit out of me in the hopes that you might come see me.”

For a second Jinyoung doesn’t react, but when he runs the words through his mind again, he feels his mouth falling open.

“You did what?”

Jinyoung tries to pull his hand away, but Jaebum holds onto it with a lot more strength than Jinyoung thought he was capable of in his state. 

“Let me go, asshole,” Jinyoung slaps Jaebum’s chest and his hand is free as the other boy coughs and shakes. “Oh shit, you really are hurt.”

“That’s what I just said; pay attention, yeah?” Jaebum says through clenched teeth.

“Should I call a nurse?” Jinyoung asks, already half-rising from his seat.

“No, not yet. We need to talk first,” Jaebum wheezes. Jinyoung sits back down somewhat reluctantly. 

“I suppose forgiving you is worth considering if you’re willing to put yourself in the hospital just to try to make up with me,” Jinyoung says after Jaebum’s breathing stops sounding so laboured. 

“I’m glad to hear it because I really miss you.” 

“Didn’t seem like it with Jackson around,” Jinyoung can’t help but say.

“Jinyoungie, you’re my best friend in the world, that won’t change for anything, but I really like Jackson. I liked him from the very beginning, I should have told you that from the start. I don’t know where it will go with him, but I’d really appreciate it if you supported us,” Jaebum pleads. 

Jinyoung leans back in his seat and sighs. Some small, twisted part of him wants to refuse, but he’s had a monopoly on Jaebum for twelve years; it won’t kill him to share him with someone else.

“I don’t even know why you’re pretending like you’re not hopelessly in love with him, but whatever. I’m cool with it, as long as you don’t ditch me anymore,” he says pointedly.

“I won’t. JJ Project forever?” he swears holding up three fingers. Jinyoung can’t help but smile; it’s been ten years since the summer they came up with that stupid name for themselves and that even stupider hand sign. 

“JJ Project forever,” Jinyoung confirms, doing the same sign and flipping his hand down.

“Great. Technically I won the bet, remember? And the deal was that you would have to do what I want.” Jinyoung vaguely remembers saying that when he first proposed their bet. 

“And what do you want?”

“I want us to all be friends,” Jaebum says with a hopeful smile.

“All?” Jinyoung asks. As if on cue, a knock sounds on the door before Youngjae and Jackson are poking their heads through.

“Hey, is everything good in here?” Jinyoung should have known that Jackson was in on this scheme too. He tenses a bit at the sight of him, but forces himself to relax. He glances back at Jaebum, understanding what he meant.

“Alright, I can do that,” Jinyoung whispers back at him. Jaebum’s smile widens.

“Yeah, we’re good, you can come in now,” Jaebum says. As Jackson makes his way inside, Jinyoung takes a deep breath and mentally wipes away whatever childish animosity still clings to his heart. Jackson is a fun guy to have as a friend, and he’s going to have to accept the fact that he’s going to be a regular fixture in his life now.

“Um, listen, Jackson, the bet was my idea the whole time. I lied to your face that day because I was jealous that you were stealing away my best friend, and I took out all my anger with Jaebum out on you. You really didn’t deserve it and I really want to say that I’m-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, bygones are fucking bygones and the water is under the fucking bridge already because I am so fucking done with this soap opera melodrama, ‘endless discussion of feelings’ bullshit,” Jackson declares as he crosses the room and Jinyoung finds himself being swept up into a bone-crushing hug.

“Okay,” He wheezes, feeling a bemused smile form on his face. 

“Oh wow, it seems like you’ve got a pretty nice body hidden under all this cashmere. In another life, you so could have gotten it,” Jackson says with hands wandering down Jinyoung’s body. 

“Okay, so we’ve all made up. That’s great, you can stop hugging him now,” Jaebum protests from his bed.

“Jaebum-hyung, are you jealous?” Jackson pouts and blinks innocently at the older boy while he waves his fists in front of his body.

“Come here,” he says, gesturing for Jackson to sit in the chair at his other side. He waves at Jinyoung to take his old seat and he turns to Youngjae who is still hovering by the door, “You too, Youngjae. You can sit at the foot of my bed.”

“Like a dog?” the younger boy complains, but shuffles in anyway.

“Yes, I like this,” Jaebum says as he leans back into the pillow Jackson props up for him. 

“I’m so glad this plan worked out. I can’t believe you went through it, hyung,” Youngjae says, looking up at him from the end of the bed with awe in his eyes.

“When Jaebum decides to do something, he follows through with it all the way. That’s such an excellent quality in a man,” Jackson says proudly while brushing hair back from his forehead. 

“The downside of that is when he decides not to do something that he should,” Jinyoung finds himself saying. Jackson turns to him with interest in his eyes.

“Ohhh, like what? You’ve got to fill me in on all the dirt you’ve got on Jaebum,” he says excitedly. Jinyoung takes a moment to take in the situation; after everything that’s happened, he’s surprised at how easy it is for the four of them to be here like this.

“Come on, Jinyoung. Give me all the juicy deets,” Jackson pleads, holding a hand over Jaebum’s face to muffle his protests. Jinyoung smiles a bit before he launches into his story. He’s surprised, but he can live with this.

 

 

Jackson wolfs down his last mouthful of food and downs the last of his drink before he sits back with a satisfied belch. Mark wrinkles his nose in disgust and shakes his head.

“What? It’s a sign of appreciation for the food.” Mark rolls his eyes.

“I still don’t know why we ate before your friends got here. Shouldn’t we have just waited?”

“I hadn’t eaten all day, so, no, we couldn’t wait. Jaebum and Jinyoung probably aren’t even hungry anyway.”

“You mean, you don’t want Jaebum and Jinyoung around to remind you about how much you’re cheating on your diet,” a new voice says. Mark turns around to see two approaching figures, one unfamiliar and one vaguely familiar, but both handsome.

“Jaebum!” Jackson lights up, eyes shining. Mark hides a smile. It was funny listening to Jackson swoon over his boyfriend over the phone, it’s quite another thing to see it in person. “Wait, you’re not saying I’m getting fat are you?”

“Of course not. And, even if you were, you’d still be gorgeous to me,” Jaebum smiles softly as he sits next to Jackson. 

“Ugh,” the unfamiliar person groans, “Will you two ever grow out of this sappy phase?” Jackson maturely sticks his tongue out at him.

“I know you’re just jealous because you secretly wish you were in Jaebum’s place –”

“Jesus Christ, when will you ever let that go?”

“–but, Park Jinyoung, you need to move on,” Jackson says sagely as he shifts over into Jaebum’s lap. “By the way, this is my friend, Mark Tuan. Mark, say hello to Jaebum and Jinyoung.”

Mark inhales a bit as he’s suddenly the focus of three pairs of eyes. He’s a bit out of practice with being suddenly introduced to Jackson’s many friends.

“Hello,” he waves at both of the newcomers in turn. 

“Anyway, Jaebum and I are going to have a quickie in the bathroom. You two should get acquainted with each other while we’re gone. C’mon, JB.” Jaebum blinks in surprise but doesn’t resist as he’s pulled away. Mark waits until they’re out of sight before he speaks again.

“I don’t know how well you know Jackson, but, in case you haven’t realised it yet, we’ve just been set up.”

“You know, I wasn’t completely sure, but I did have my suspicions,” Jinyoung’s eyes crinkle in the sweetest way as he chuckles a bit.

“Do you mind? Because I don’t” Mark draws inspiration from Jackson and utters one the boldest things he’s ever said in his life while staring straight at the other man.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t, Mark Tuan.” Jinyoung’s eyes crinkle again and Mark smiles wide enough to flash his canines.


End file.
